Ixchel

Name: Ixchel (“ee-shell”)
Meaning: “rainbow lady”; Mayan origin
Nickname: Chel

Gender: Female
Age (joined): Juvenile - 4 months
Age (current): Young Adult - 11 Months
Birthdate: April 2020

Territory: Stonehaven
Rank: Second
Trade: Acolyte

Height: 78 cm (adult)
Weight:  80 kg (adult)

Appearance: A fuzzy little beastlet. As a youth, Ixchel is covered in soft, plush fur. It’s short but very fluffy on her neck and almost always stands up like she’s been ruffled by a strong wind. It’s rather difficult to flatten out and tends to collect dust and debris all too easily. The rest of her body is more smooth, hinting at her coat for adulthood. She has long, skinny legs and wide, angled ears. Like most younger wolves, her paws are a touch too big, overtaking the rest of her body in growth. Her tail is a slim plume, almost feathery, which is fitting.
Ixchel’s colors fade from near-white on her body to dark purple-brown around her face, which is starkly pale itself, trademark of the owl-like side of the family. She has dark flecks on her chest, forehead, and back. Her eyes are a deep ruddy brown, wide and absorbent. Her muted shades stand out less than her littermate's vibrant gold, but the transition of dark to light is fairly noticeable.

Voice: Quiet, high-pitched when emotional
Scent: Spruce tree needles
Stance: Withdrawn but alert, Ixchel holds herself like she's ready to flit from place to place. She walks delicately, silently, and is constantly swiveling her ears to noises.

Family Tree: TBA

Relations:
Uma (mother, deceased)
Sukka (father)
Runa (sister)
Vaya (sister, deceased)
Ozan (uncle)

Orientation: what's this owo
Ships: ahoy matey

Moon Phase: New Moon - Elder (The Seeker)
Abilities: nope

Type: INTP-T - The Logician / Chaotic Neutral
Personality: Observant, resilient, queer, adaptable, impulsive, wily, distant, secretive.

She sits on the edges, perpetually watching, detached from the on-goings and hardly ever found in the center of attention. Ixchel is a critter of the in-between. She does not mind the bustle of crowds, for the most part, but nor does she shirk from being alone. She does not trust quickly, however. Even from a young age, strangers are treated with wary stares. Perhaps even a little growl or two, if they come close. But on the flip side, Chel is very fond of her family, and may overlook faults simply because they are kin. She is especially close to her sister, thanks to their fairly traumatic beginnings in the world.

Up close, Ixchel is a curious creature. She pops up in strange places and interludes in conversations, if she feels comfortable. She has a habit of speaking whatever’s on her mind, without thinking first. She tends to talk fast and get ahead of herself. Thoughts flow through her head like a rushing river, changing subjects and latching onto any distraction. She is very absorbent of her surroundings, despite the outer appearance of distance. The slightest tug of fascination can pull her entirely askew. She is prone to strange focuses, drifting aimlessly, and eavesdropping. While a chatterbox among her kin and friends, she’s fairly stoic otherwise, and sometimes selectively mute til she deems good reason to use her voice. Body language becomes useful until then.

Ixchel is yet to understand much of the conflict that adults seem to focus on. She is clever in different ways, though watchful and fairly adept at picking up information even without context. (Which leaves her with some odd tidbits.) Her memory is quite good, though seems to remember things others would disregard as useless. From a general standpoint, Chel is optimistic, but in a dry, realistic way. She’s more likely to point out what’s probable even if it’s a negative thing, but add that it’ll eventually pass.

Violence frightens her more than she prefers to let on. She is not particularly argumentative herself, and would rather sacrifice something in favor of pleasing another - but only to those she trusts.

Facts: 
- Moves quietly, like the rest of her family. Tends to appear out of nowhere and shuffle herself into place without others realizing.
- Has a habit of mimicking those she admires (via body language).
- Really hasn’t decided how she feels about this whole magic thing.
- More of a "follower", usually in wake of her sibling, content to let her lead.

Likes: 
- Thunderstorms; their unpredictability and awesome energy
- Successfully spooking other wolves with her quiet appearances
- Bird-watching, particularly with Runa
- Being up high
- Star-gazing and nighttime in general

Dislikes: 
- Most strangers, especially those who glare on account of suspicion towards her and her family
- Very hot weather and very cold weather, she prefers the middle ground
- Being underground or underwater

Fears:
- The loss of her kin.
- Being trapped underground, sort of claustrophobia/suffocation.

Pre-Group History: 
Darkness had always surrounded her family, it seemed. Uma was warned of befriending Sukka and his kin, but she did anyway. The two were blessed with pups in the spring, and though the birth went well, only two of the three came out alive. Runa, Ixchel, and Vaya, given a name despite her lifelessness. Still, it wasn’t like that was drastically unusual. Life was not always kind to any of its subjects.

Ixchel and Runa  were thrust into a world of uncertainty, in the Tundes pack’s final days. But their first month was gentle; their parents kept them tucked away to grow and play. Family was all they knew at first. It was a good existence, but surely not to last. Uma, Sukka, and the pups’ uncle Ozan could not protect the young wolves from the world forever. And all too soon their bubble of safety was broken.

Osirus’ death changed her life entirely. Strange how a wolf she’d never met could alter things so drastically. But the real world came rushing up all too fast, whisking her paws out from under her. Kol, magic, good and evil. She was given the view of her parents, of bystanders to all these great changes. And additionally, the old superstition came along, as blame was tossed every which way. Her family looked like birds of the night, owls. Owls were signs of badness, and so they too must be bad.

This was shallow thinking, Ixchel thought at first. She did not understand why mere animals were seen as such. So she tried to brush it away. Perhaps it would have been forgotten had Uma lived. But as summer arrived, death came again to the island, and her mother was one of the still, cold bodies they woke to. This was a shock. Ixchel had been too young to remember Vaya, but finding her mother… so empty, was shattering.

It was a few days before she could eat again. After that it was silent and slow, just the four of them, bad owl wolves, waiting for what would happen next. Eventually groups rose from the ashes of the Tundes, and Sukka and Ozan led the two half-grown pups to the mountains, where a she-wolf named Yetta claimed ground for the pack Stonehaven.

Group History: 
To come...

Souls Log: Link!
Docs Bio: Link!!
Themes: Vulture Vulture, Towards the Sun
Moodboard: coming...
Relationships: coming...